


Girls become lovers who turn into mothers (So mothers, be good to your daughters too)

by Foxipaw



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 02:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6034222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxipaw/pseuds/Foxipaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbey recollects.</p><p>"Whenever people asked Abby how long it had been going on, and they did ask, she never said much. In truth, there simply wasn't much to say. They'd moved to the neighborhood when Clarke was not quite one. They'd had no idea the next door neighbors had a baby daughter as well until they were coerced into throwing a housewarming party for the culdesac and other nearby friends. She supposed it had started then. The instant their eyes met she and Lexa had been inseparable. "</p>
            </blockquote>





	Girls become lovers who turn into mothers (So mothers, be good to your daughters too)

Whenever people asked Abby how long it had been going on, and they did ask, she never said much. In truth, there simply wasn't much to say. They'd moved to the neighborhood when Clarke was not quite one. They'd had no idea the next door neighbors had a baby daughter as well until they were coerced into throwing a housewarming party for the culdesac and other nearby friends. She supposed it had started then. The instant their eyes met she and Lexa had been inseparable.

They grew up constantly in each other's company. It had started with Lexa, actually. According to her mother, Lexa had been a terribly fussy baby for the first year of her life. She still had trouble sleeping and seemed restless at all hours. Her doctors were beginning to worry it was an early symptom of some rare disease, until a day or so after the party Abby took Natasha up on her offer to babysit while she ran errands and did finishing touches on the house.

Afterwards she remembered the brightness in the eyes of the other girl's mother, as she gushed about Lexa's first real nap _ever_. She swore Clarke had something to do with it, and at the time Abby thought the lady was crazy but she could hardly turn down her help. The next day was more of the same, and so forth and so on, until the girls were growing up side by side. They learned to walk together, talk together, they were potty trained together. Closer than sisters, like fate had brought them side by side.

It didn't take long for the other children to start bullying them in school, but they had already found a winning team of friends from all over the rest of the neighborhood. The Blakes lived a street over, and behind them the Reyes. Jasper and Monty would come over too when Mrs. Blake hosted her piano lessons. Occasionally they'd drag over a few other odds and ends, but for the most part, that was it. She'd always worried about, just a bit. Was it healthy, she wondered? Should she push Clarke to expand her horizons?

Yet, when she saw her daughter with Lexa, she couldn't ever imagine doing something like that. It was magical the way they looked at each other. She wondered if maybe she always knew things would end up the way they had. It was Hollywood. It quickly became a joke in the family that if you wanted either girl's attention you had to clap once or twice, and the habit stuck, growing into something their whole group of friends and families did without thinking.

She remembered the first day Clarke had come home with a black eye. Abby had been completely flummoxed. Sure Clarke was _spirited_ , but she'd never imagined her as a fighter!

“What happened, Clarke?” Her daughter set her jaw and pouted, but said nothing.

She looked at Lexa who stood at her side, tiny hands holding tight to the straps of her backpacks. Silent as well.

Abby sighed.

“Well, Johnny was being a butthead!” Clarke burst out, and Lexa rolled her eyes skyward. Clarke turned on her and groused, “Well, we had to tell her something.”

Lexa remained quiet. She was always remarkably taciturn for a child.

Clarke had turned back to face her. “Johnny Murphy called Lexa a word because she was holding my hand.”

“And he hit you?” Abby asked, wondering if it was too early to start feeling angry. She knew Clarke was holding back.

“Well...” Clarke frowned and looked away.

Lexa sighed with all the aplomb of an elder on her six year old face. “John called me gay so Clarke wailed on him with a jump rope. His elbow hit her eye while he was trying to run away.”

Abby threw her head back and laughed so hard she had to fish her old inhaler out of the odds and ends drawer in the kitchen.

Day in and day out, without exception. In sickness or in health, and believe her, there was plenty of both. Mr. and Mrs. Woods had taken to coordinating all vacations with their family because the girls would not stand to venture somewhere new unless the other was in tow. They fought like sisters but they were inseparable. Lexa was always hard headed but Clarke could hold her own when she felt passionate about something, even when they were children. Lexa never let Clarke ruffle her, which always made her daughter ever angrier. It never failed.

They did all their sports together. Clarke suffered through martial arts for Lexa because she took art lessons with her. Abby remembered their myriad arguments over which was better and why. Of course, there were plenty of extracurriculars they both enjoyed, that the parents suffered through for their enjoyment. Lexa convinced Clarke to try horseback riding, archery, fencing, and rock climbing. Each summer they would go to a different adventure camp together. Abby and Jake, both being doctors, were well off and had always helped out with things like that in return for the Woods looking after Clarke, which they didn't always have time to do.

Abby had reflected frequently on what a blessing it was to have Lexa's family in their lives. Exceptionally kind people with warm hearts, who had loved Clarke like she was their own. She would never forget the warm light in their eyes, and even now she could see them smiling while the families watched the sunset on the balcony of a cabin they'd rented one autumn, down in West Virginia.

They died when Lexa was eleven, in a car crash.

The mourning had been hard. Family had come to town to take care of Lexa and manage the house, settle affairs, and arrange the funeral. Lexa did not leave Clarke's room even once, thanks to the built in bathroom. Clarke only left to get food for Lexa and herself. Family came for her, but she refused to leave.

The funeral was a closed casket affair, and it rained during the burial.

After that was the first time the girl's were separated.

When the girls found out that an uncle in Washington was taking custody of Lexa they hadn't quite understood, and then when it finally sank in the police ended up knocking on their door because a passing jogger had heard the screaming inside and called in.

So, for three months Lexa lived in Washington with an uncle she barely knew. For three months Clarke did not say a single word to either her mother or her father. She barely ate, she never smiled. Abby took her to doctors, she took her to psychologists, she tried everything she could think of but her daughter just wasn't the same.

Around the time Abby was losing her mind, she heard a knock on the door in the middle of the night. She opened the door to see Gustus Woods' hulking figure silhouetted in her porch light. He explained that Lexa was wasting away and he wouldn't have it. He proposed a legal transfer of custody, and the next day they they started the long and arduous process, but it was worth it to wake Clarke up out of bed and watch her bolt down the stairs. It was worth it to see the tears in their eyes as they fell onto the lawn.

She remembered the first time she caught them “practice kissing” on the basement couch, but snuck away before they realized they'd been caught. She'd never told Clarke about it. They had a habit of falling asleep together, Clarke usually with a sketchbook in her hand, and Lexa clutching some old novel from before even Abby's time. She'd find them all over the place, the back yard or the top of the stairs or the bathroom, just snoozing away.

They started going on dates before they realized they were dates. Clarke would think of something Lexa would like, and beg her mom to help her plan it. Lexa would do the same, and Abby didn't mind playing both sides. Jake would joke to “have her home by ten” every time, to which Clarke would roll her eyes.

Abby knew when they kissed for _real_ for the first time because neither girl would look at each other. The air curdled with something awkward over their morning eggo waffles, and Abby had given them both a hard look, which they'd also pointedly avoided. That night Clarke had broke down and told her everything and Abby told her that she loved her and Lexa both, and if they were happy then she was happy. Clarke had sniffled and kissed her and then slipped back to bed.

Abby had spent that night on IKEA's website, thinking it might finally be time to turn that study into a second bedroom.

When Clarke was sixteen she had allergies. Spring had sprung and with it had come the sniffles and sneezing. One night it was so bad that her eyes were red from itching and puffing. Abby had convinced Jake to run to Wal-Mart and grab more Benadryl because they were out. Clarke, taken by a gut panic, had asked him to stay. She could wait until the morning, she claimed, and she begged him to stay. Jake had just laughed in that easy way of his and Abby had smiled, trying to reassure Clarke. He would be right back.

But he wasn't.

The news report said he was shot and killed for his watch and his wallet in the parking lot.

Clarke was sick with grief and had pinned the blame on Abby. Her mother had sent him out, if she'd just _listened_ to her, she _knew_... But it was no use, nothing she did or hated would bring him back. She wanted nothing to do with her mother for another four years. Through it, Lexa was her rock. Even their childhood friends began to come around less and less frequently as they graduated high school.

Lexa got accepted in MIT for Environmental Engineering, but decided to go to UC Berkeley with Clarke instead. Abby was not surprised, and did not try to fight it. Other parents would cry out to her, tell her that it was _better_ for Clarke if she had time on her own, time to branch out, but Abby could only laugh. Clearly, they did not know her daughter. Clarke studied Architecture and minored in Sustainable Design, and Lexa stayed the course with Environmental Engineering. According to them, they had big plans. They said they'd been working on it for years.

Abby lost touch with them for a few years after that. Sure, they came to visit for the holidays and birthdays, but they were caught up in their own life now. One Christmas Clarke broke down and let out all of her frustrations. They both came clean and talked and cried while Lexa leaned against the wall outside, listening and smiling. Afterwards, Clarke started sending her mother monthly post cards with letters of what they were doing and working on, what was happening in their lives.

Abby still loved to go back and read them.

 

May 13th, 2012: _I can't believe we're graduating tomorrow! This is all so crazy. I hope you're packed and ready for your flight, and I hope this gets to you before then, too! Anyways, I can't believe I let her talk me into moving the week after, but you know how she is. Never wants to waste any time. Her job seems exciting, and the work for me should be good up in Seattle. The blueprint is really coming together for Our Project,_ (she always called it that, “Our Project,” just as secretive as always. Abby smiled.) _and as soon as we get the funds together we get to start that! Life's about to get busy. Oh – Also! We got a dog! Pics included! (Lexa's smitten, don't let her try to tell you otherwise)_

 

November 18th, 2013: _Lexa's patent was accepted!!!! She sold her design! Mom, this is huge! I'm positive I'll tell you all of this on the phone as soon as I'm done with this letter, but I wanted my first impressions to be here on paper, where they'll stay forever. Our Project is gonna change the world mom. And yes we'll be able to tell you what it is soon, but first I wanna tell you how it happened. So last week Lexa goes out to get the mail, and..._

 

 _February 2_ _nd_ _, 2014: So much has changed in a year. Our company is doing... amazing. Better than we expected. Construction just finished on the first plot in Ethiopia, and we have bids in at four others. The EcoPod is doing everything we hoped for, and the program is starting to spread. Donations are coming in, we're expanding. This might be it Mom, this might be our big moment. And Lexa's doing so amazing. She's everything you could want in a CEO. I think some of the underlings are terrified of her, can you believe that? Scared of_ Lexa _. She's a total teddy bear, but she flicked me when I told them so. Anyways, I'll skype you on Valentine's Day, and we can talk about this summer._

 

In the end, Lexa was the one who proposed. They were on a trip in Uganda installing a new EcoPod village and educating when Lexa gathered the village and told them what she wanted to do. They had helped surprise Clarke by lighting hundred of torches and small candles and oil lamps. They had decorated their small hut with pale blue flowers that had bloomed in the spring rains and strips of colorful cloth. That night, with moths fluttering around the lights, the village had feasted on the first catch Lexa had hunted, initiating them into their culture. At the end of it all, she'd dropped to one knee and proposed. Clarke had cried for twenty minutes and was so excited she forgot to say yes, and nearly gave Lexa a panic attack.

But standing there on that podium, with everyone's eyes on her... What on Earth could she possibly say to sum it all up? A lifetime of love, and so many years left to go. She let her gaze drift to the high table, where her daughter and her wife sat at the center. Octavia sat on Clarke's other side, and Bellamy sat beside Lexa. Raven, Jasper, and Monty were right there as well, just like they always had been. Some things, she reflected, never changed. The two brides were lost in each other's eyes. Typical. She clapped her hands in front of the mic and they both jumped, and the crowd laughed along with her.

“They told me to stand up here and talk about Clarke and Lexa.” She chuckled. “'Clarke and Lexa.' When has it ever been anything else? Jake and I always wanted more than one child, yet somehow after Clarke we never felt the need.” Clarke and her shared a sad smile. Abby turned back to the crowd. “It's not every day you get to see true love. What else is there to say? They were a Disney movie from the first day they met, back in diapers. How can I sum up a lifetime of shared experience, how can I sit here and put words to something like this. All I can say is that I love you both more than anything in the world, and it has been both a lesson and an honor to watch you grow.”

With tears in her eyes Abby stepped down, applause raining around her, likely grateful for the brevity of her speech. In truth? She was at a loss. She felt arms circle around her, and Abby met her daughter's brimming blue eyes. “Thank you for everything, Mom,” she whispered, voice raspy while she tried not to cry. Bellamy stood up to give his speech.

“I love you, my baby girl,” Abby said, smiling into her daughter's hair.

Instead of a father daughter dance, Clarke had decided she wanted to dance with Abby instead. Lexa danced with her uncle Gustus and then they danced together. Collectively the crowd smiled when their faces softened, when they got lost in each other's eyes again. They carried on in silent conversation, a mix of twitching lips and quirked brows. They could write each other novels with their eyes, those two. Abby envied them. This was it, she realized, and wished for Jake. Their baby girl was all grown up. She and Lexa were moving to London next month to expand their company, and after that they would be headed who knows where to start up their summer program, their _dream_ , ever since they were kids in Survival Camp.

A laugh bubbled out of Abby even as she cried. Her girls would take care of each other. They always had.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I kind of want to write a multi-chapter piece that goes into more detail in Clarke and Lexa's side of this, but we'll see!


End file.
